Dark Fellowship
by kbeto
Summary: Two years have passed since the last great battle. As the survivors start to rebuilt their lives and enjoy seemingly peaceful days, the fear that once lived in the hearts of many start to disappear. But how long can this peace last, when a new menace lurking in the shadows sets a new plan to motion? Sequel to "The Agenda". Rated T because that's how I roll.
1. Tattered Peace

_Disclaimer: Like always, I only own the plot._

_A/N: I don't know what has gotten into me, but here I am with a sequel! If this turn out to be crappy, we'll just have to pretend it never happened. Hohohoho!_

_I won't be able to update it regularly, as long as I'm not finished with **Negative Chemistry**, so please, bear with me. :)_

_Many thanks to **PerfectDreamWithHim** for the continuous support! You rock! :D_

Dark Fellowship

"Aren't you ready, yet? You're the king, for fuck's sake!" I exhale loudly, letting my body drop on our bed and watching Harry clothe himself.

"Is this really necessary, Dougs?" He asks me with pleading eyes, his reflection in the mirror staring at me.

"Yes, it is," I teleport behind him, placing the crown upon his head. "You need to at least look like the part, even if it's only on the anniversary of the city," I chuckle, wrapping my arms around his waist.

It has been two years since our last great battle for survival and our lives have just improved since then. On Tom's request, a statue of Alad- Aldwin was erected in honour of his memory and how he willingly gave up on his life to bring Bruce back to Danny. But not only that, the statue is a reminder that no matter how lost you are in life, it's never too late to start again and choose your own path, one that can lead you to happiness. I must say I sorta miss him. After he gave up on the _I-am-going-to-kill-you-all_ bullshit, we could see he was as much of a victim as us. Such a pity we couldn't save him, Tom would give a wonderful older brother -though he would be in reality the younger one-.

"Me, Dan, Aurora and Bruce are just waiting for you two," Tom appears from inside a blinding flash, sitting on the couch with his arms folded and frowning.

"Sometimes I wish you hadn't been taught this ability, Tummy," I sigh. "What if we were doing something _intimate_?"

"I would have sensed your _lust_, you major perv," he rolls his eyes, flinging a cushion at me. "And I would also have hosed you two with cold water, because we're supposed to arrive early at the opening ceremony!"

"I'm ready," Haz says, just as Danny jumps all the way up to the veranda and knocks for Tom open the door for him.

"I don't care if you're King and Queen, you're still twats," our freckled friend chuckles. He has Bruce and Aurora on each shoulder.

"Good Christ, Danny boy! We're on the third floor! Couldn't you have used the stairs?" I sigh, making everybody laugh as we finally left our home.

~#~

The sky is clear, and a gentle night breeze greet us when I teleport myself and Hazza to where he's expected to give his speech to the citizens of Deepsea City. I know what you must be thinking _"Clear sky? Weren't you at the bottom of the sea?" _Well, we still are. But there's nothing a genius like me can't do with my brilliance, and I upgraded our illumination system to recreate the Earth's atmosphere. It's like the real thing, only that I get to choose the weather! How convenient is that? Ha!

"_I'm still not used to all this attention," _I hear my boyfriend's voice in my mind.

"_You're fine, don't worry. Of course, a fit and dashing king like you would gather attention! If we weren't in public I would already–"_

"_Thanks for your support, babe. Just remember to keep your hands to yourself,"_ he cuts in, giving me a smirk as he rises from his throne and positioning himself to speak to the crowd.

Harry's speech is truly beautiful, and I'm not saying this as his lover. He speaks about how much our society has prospered, and thanks people for trusting him with their lives and well being. I can't help but fall in love with him a bit more –not even sure if that's possible–, seeing him speaking with such passion about how he plans to improve even further the lives of everyone in the four zones, assuring them of a brighter future. I'm lost in my daydream when I hear my name being chanted and realise that he referred to me as his "King", making people go crazy, before finally finishing his discourse.

We go back to our seats, leaving room for Danny to start his performance on the stage across from us. I have to say he's pretty talented! As soon as the first chords of his guitar are heard, the crowd goes completely insane. It's mainly young girls and women screaming his name, crying, and generally despairing, but it's also easy to see boys, men and elderly people moving their bodies to his music. As his friend I don't particularly say I understand how he summons such a strong reaction from them –I mean, I _live_ with the guy–, but I would be lying if said that he isn't good at what he does.

"Thank you, Deepsea City! Such a pleasure playing for ya!" his accent ring in the air. "Now getting on with the other festivities, with our Archery Team!" Danny pumps raises his fist, before bowing, giving Tom and his disciples the cue to take over the show.

The Black Hawk archery team started as Danny's idea to teach Tom how to be more proficient at handling combat weapons. We learned many things from our last fight years ago, and one of them is that we can't rely solely on our abilities –I'm living proof of that–. Although _Tummy_ is a lover, Danny managed to convince him, and he soon assumed the command of a group of young boys and girls who are always taking part in competitive events, or just training for the benefit of honing their skills.

"Ready, Black Chicks?" Tom refers to his apprentices, like an older Hawk calling to his young birds, who shout _"Yes, sir"_ back. A multitude of bows aim at the sky above, arrows being pulled from quivers in perfect synchrony; it's almost like their one huge organism.

"At my command... Shoot!" My chocolate-eyed friend orders, and dozens of arrows are zooming up the sky, in a rapid succession, exploding in many colours, revealing the fireworks concealed inside them. The public watches in awe, as flower like patterns explode, raining on us like magical dust.

Tom gives me a thumbs up from where he is, showing me he's satisfied with the quality of the fireworks I gave him. I can't help but feel pride swell in my chest, replying with a smile and shrug. The night is being a great one, and everyone's having a good time, until we hear a scream shrill with pain, loud enough to be heard over the explosions in the sky.

~#~

"There's somebody hurt," Tom appears by Danny's side, taking him to where me and Harry are. "I also sense a strong killing intent, and I don't think it's human."

"I'm going with you, Tom," Harry says putting his crown down. "We're the only ones who can heal. Dan and Dougs, you two take care of things, we can't have the population panicking."

"Haz I can do some healing, too, remember?" I protest, gripping his by his forearm.

"But it's not your speciality, babe," He kisses me on the forehead. "We have to protect our citizens and I'm counting on you to do that."

"I–" I open my mouth to argue back, but Danny puts his hand on my shoulder, shaking his head and telling Harry and Tom to be careful.

"Unlock, Providence!" Tom removes the bracelet Danny gave him on the first anniversary, which morphs into a silver bow with for strings, giving it the appearance of a harp. He obviously had some _naughty_ time with Danny, or he wouldn't be able to mimic such ability. I love to tease him about it!

"Roar, Feilong! Druk!" Harry shouts, gripping his dog tags, turning them into a pair of _katanas_ adorned by dragons. He looks so damn fine when he's ready to fight, that I feel like ripping his clothes off. _With my teeth._

"The things I would to you..." I smirk, giving him _that_ look. He only chuckles and thanks me for his swords. Yeah, I'm the one who made him those, though they're not incredible as Danny's or Tom's weapons. Or did you think Haz and Danny– Get your mind out of the gutter!

"Adagio of Radiance," Tom pulls the strings on his bow mirroring the same movement he did with his troupe moments ago, shiny arrows of light gaining form, before soaring through the sky and landing in the area where the scream came from, creating some sort of barrier. "That's going to keep the monster enclosed. Let's go, Harry!"

The two of them disappear inside a bright light, leaving me and Danny to take care of a increasingly panicky crowd. This isn't going to be easy. Or good.

~#~

Tom and Harry warp to the place they can sense a ominous presence that's hard to pinpoint with precision. They walk for a few minutes until they finally see a creature that resembles an anthropomorphic wolf –twice their size– clutching a small boy in his right paw. The creature with blood-red eyes growls at them, letting the drool foaming from its mouth drop to the ground, revealing corrosive properties.

"Ugh, why can't it be a lamb or something smaller? Just for a change?" Harry sighs, unsheathing his swords and crossing them in front of him.

"We can complain about that after we save the kid," Tom tightens the grip on his bow. "Then we can take it down. I have an idea."

Giving Harry a mute sign, Tom starts strumming the strings, delicately plucking them and a sweet melody feels the air, instantly soothing the creature, making it sleepy and eventually falling to the ground. "Slumber Overture," he says when he's finished with his music.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should just make you the king," Harry pries the boy from the monster's clutch. "You clearly the one who evolved the most in these two years."

"Thanks for the compliment, mate! Now, let me cure his bruises and you take care of that monster."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Harry salutes, much to Tom's dismay, turning to face the asleep creature.

They still have to find out where it came from and why it attacked a small kid, but all questions could wait till they're sure the unconscious boy is safe.

"Borrow from my energy and burn everything to ashes," the brunet reverses his grip on his weapons, his blades pointing backwards, gleaming with an orange hue. "Cinder Cross," an X shaped energy wave comes out from Harry's _katanas_, completely disintegrating their fallen enemy. He exhales loudly, before getting back to Tom, who's kneeling over the kid inside a pillar of healing light.

~#~

We're trying to get people to calm down and convince them that nothing abnormal is happening, when Danny's ears start twitching, something I can't regard as good. He tells me to render us invisible and go fetch Bruce and Aurora, ordering the bird to put everybody to sleep and then asking the momonga to assume his form to distract the crowd with one of his songs, whilst Bruce executes his orders.

The animal couple goes with the plan and I'm ready to teleport Danny to where our boyfriends are, when his eyes change to feline-like pupils and he leaps over everyone and sprints on all fours, much like a cheetah.

"This isn't a good sign. Oh, boy...", I say to myself, before flash stepping after him.

We arrive shortly after that at Tom's arrows landed creating a barrier. The scene we are met with, is one of sheer terror: Harry has his limbs and neck restrained by what seems like tails coming out from a little boy's back, and Tom's lying on the ground, his eyes devoid of any trace of life, body completely limp.

"Tom! Harry!" Danny growls, his eyes still looking feral.

"Hm? Oh, the insects came to the rescue," the boy twitches his neck to look at me and Danny, sniggering a bit as he does so. "I don't have any interest in you two, trash."

Snapping his fingers, the ginger boy plucks two of his tails off, that then turn into what resembles two grown lycanthropes, fur dark as the night itself.

"Kill them, my cubs!" he ordered the creatures, before wrapping himself with his remaining tails and vanishing along with Harry and Tom's lifeless body.


	2. Warning Bells

_Disclaimer: Don't be fooled, I own no one._

_A/N: Some Hollywood-ish minor violence, but you know how it goes, assuming you've read the prequel._

_I feel kinda proud of myself for getting two updates before the weekend. Haha!_

Chapter II

"Harry!" I call, seeing my friends disappear in front of me. The creatures use my opening to pounce on me, but Danny kick both away, stopping them from hitting me.

"Dougie, what are you doing? We have to defeat them first!" he sort of lectures me, helping me to my feet.

"We need to know where their boss took our boyfriends," I nod, "I'll capture the one on the right."

"Sounds like a plan! That's more like the Dougs I know," Danny beamed at me, his eyes reverting back to their human appearance, before flashing gold again.

"Psycho Shock," I release a psychic wave to paralyse and numb the foe's body.

The wolf –I'll go with wolf because it does look like one– falls face first to the earth, a loud whine following suit.

"You don't have time worry about your brother," Danny slashed the other wolf with razor sharp claws, making it disappear in a shadowy whirlwind.

"That was easy!" I breathe out in relief.

"See? That's why me and Harry insist on training so much," my freckled friend chuckles beside me.

"Yeah, nothing can beat you when you get that beast mojo of yours going on," I receive a slap on the head from him. "Anyway, let's probe some information from this thing," I kneel before our new prisoner.

I feel my whole body stiff as I can't seem to access anything inside the monster's brain. Trying again, my actions prove useless once more. Danny obviously can obviously smell the distress in me, because the next moment he's crouching beside me asking me what's wrong. I'm about to tell him what's wrong, when he shoves me away with great force.

"Dan, what the hell?" I recover from his push, using pychokinesis on my body to stop me from hitting a tree. "Oh, shit!"

Red is dripping from a giant gash made with claws on Danny's chest. The damage wouldn't have been so bad were him using his combat uniform, but being a popstar doesn't really allow one to dress safe for fight _and_ to perform.

"Dan, you okay?" I teleport under his arm, struggling a bit to keep him standing.

"That monster–"

He doesn't have to finish his sentence, as my eyes fall upon two wolves; one immobilised on the ground, and another one standing, clearly thirsty for blood. _Oh, fuck._

~#~

"And that's all of them, darling," Bruce chirps, landing on Aurora's shoulder, who is still borrowing Danny's form.

"Thanks, handsome," she scratches his feathers just under his beak. "I don't know how Danny can successfully get through a gig without fainting; it's too tiresome."

"Master Daniel is incredible, isn't he?" He flaps his wings excitedly.

"Not that would expect less from the one who stole my Tommy's heart," Aurora flashes him a Danny-like smile.

"But I wonder what's happening. I have a really bad feeling about all this," Bruce looks up at the night sky, seeming very worried about his owner and friends.

~#~

"I thought you got that one," I look at Danny with a puzzled expression. "Are those things immortal, or something?"

"No, my instincts don't tell me that," he winces, clutching at his wound.

"Maybe we have to take them down at the same time?" I ask no one in particular. "It seems like they have no brain, so it's not that we can get any info, anyway."

"Can you buy me some time?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, Danny boy?" I smirk, making him lean against a tree, and yanking the bracelet Harry gave me from my wrist. "Scatter, Fermion!"

Each metallic bead from my accessory starts glowing in a light green hue, giving them the appearance of floating orbs of light. They immediately surround us in a cube formation, working like vertices, ready to link themselves at my command.

"Chain!" I announce, and electricity starts running in straight lines, configuring a cube. "Mime Dollhouse."

The wolves seem confused about the light show, but soon realise their movements are restricted to a room that doesn't have access to the one where me and Danny are in, and start furiously bashing and clawing at the invisible walls.

"You really get off on making those fancy weapons, don't ya?" Danny chuckles.

"You're the one who started this weapon trend, shut up. Or are you saying that you would want to bed me and Harry?" I flick him in the forehead. "More importantly, want me to heal you?"

"Now who's underestimating who?" He snorts. "Survival Code #1: Healer," I hear some loud sizzling and look down to see the wound closing up, leaving absolutely no scar.

"Someone got kinky with Tommy, that's all I'm saying," I snigger.

~#~

Tom's not sure where he is, only that's a cold and dark place. It doesn't say much to him, since he can't remember a thing except for fighting to protect a little boy that turned out to be a monster. He wanders aimlessly for a long time, before he has the realisation that he can control light and have no need to go around in complete darkness.

"Light Pact: Wisp Lantern," a medium sized ball of light floats above his head, revealing nothing except more darkness –like a massive room without any walls–.

The blond resumes his walking, going ahead in a path towards what is seemingly _nothing_. After some time, he sees in the distance what seems like a little kid crouched, scrawling something on the ground, despite of the complete lack of light in that place.

"Excuse me, do you know where's this place?" Tom asks, not even sure if the kid is able to hear him.

"Bo?" a white-haired head pipes up, and red eyes meet brown ones.

"Al?" Tom squints, but before he knows it, tiny arms are circling his legs, a small, round face burying itself into his tummy and wetting his shirt.

"I missed you," the little boy says between sobs, hugging Tom like his life depended on it, a gesture Tom returns.

"Me, too. But what are you doing here? I thought you were–"

Tom stops mid sentence, realising that if Aldwin is dead, and the boy can touch him, that means he's...

"I came here to warn you, Bolton. There is a new enemy after you," Aldwin states solemnly, wiping the tears from his eyes.

~#~

"There's really no other way? You know I don't feel comfortable about _that_," I frown, feeling Danny's look scrutinizing me.

"Donner, I'm talking about you giving me your hand, not having _sex _with me," he rolls his eyes.

"That's not the part that makes uncomfortable," I try to protest, but my hand is already being taken in a large freckled hand.

"Suck it up and let's go!" He says."Survival Code #8!"

Both my eyes and Danny's glow yellow, my hair colour darkening, bit by bit, till I'm no longer a blond, but a brunet. Freckles now dust my face and arms, and my pupils also mirror Danny's; I'm now the closest thing he'll get to having a twin.

"Criminal Duo," Danny hisses, and I drop the barrier separating us from the enemy. "Time to take them down, Dougs!"

~#~

"That's just– wow," that's all Tom manages to say, after hearing everything from Aldwin's mouth.

He's not dead yet –the red-eyed boy told him that much–, but he's not exactly alive either, what leaves him in some sort of near death experience, limbo, or whatever you may want to call it. Meanwhile, a new enemy is trying to make use of his abilities in some sombre plan.

"_Great, just what we needed,"_ Tom thought. "But how do you know all that, Al?"

"I have been doing nothing other than watching over you, Bo," the reply came with a huge grin, and for the first time Tom noticed the boy's scleras were no longer black, but something more akin to a beautiful pale grey.

"Thank you," Tom ruffles his hand through snow clear locks, making the boy giggle.

"I have one more thing to tell you," he adds, eyes darkening. "I may prove to be a hindrance to you once more, but I'm sure you're going to figure something out. Try to keep yourself alive and find a way back to your friends."

"What does that mean, Al?"

But he never gets an answer to his question, as a intense light starts flooding the place, blocking the words from Aldwin's lips from his hearing, the boy quickly fading along the darkness, and Tom can feel something pulling him somewhere else. A place where all he can feel is pain assaulting every inch of his body, smothering him.

~#~

Though I feel a bit misplaced, sharing this 'beast mode' thing, I have to admit that Danny's skills are pretty incredible. We are fighting in perfect harmony, and I don't even have to think too much about my next action; my whole body seems to respond for itself, moving in the best suited way. I wonder if it's something Danny uses to _spice _things up in bed with Tommy. Not that any of them would tell me.

The creatures seem to be having a hard time, staggering after receiving a good amount of damage from close combat. One of them tries to escape, but my walls aren't going down that easily. Dan nods to me, signalising that we should finish the fight.

"My pleasure! Just keep them in one place," I say taking a deep breath, and returning to my normal self.

"Consider it done," he, too, returns to normal, taking his rosary in hand. "Release, Judgement! Manticore Strike!"

The next second Danny's shooting the black wolves, halting their movements. I feel tempted to ask what's in those bullets, but he simply dismiss it as a new ability to add elemental effects to his shots.

"They'll stay paralysed for a short amount of time. Do your thing, _lightning boy_."

"Exactly what I have in mind," I wink at him. "Zeta, Eta, Theta! Chain! Charge!"

Three of my orbs compose a triangle formation in front of me, slowly absorbing the electric charge present in the city's artificially created atmosphere.

"Megavolt Cannon!" A massive blast of electricity instantly burns them to ashes and Danny gives me a thumb up. "Fermion, return."

"That was ace, mate!" he pats my back, smiling, but soon it turns into a frown when he looks at my face. "What's wrong?"

"We still don't know where Tummy and Haz are," I sigh, looking forlorn. "This is going to be a _long_ journey."


	3. Without a Trace

_Disclaimer: Maybe I'll own something in 2013. That's what I'm hoping for._

_A/N: I can't remember the last time I updated this, but now it has my full attention, so it shouldn't take too long before the next add. :) I'm don't think this is going to be a long story, but hopefully it will have at least ten chapters. :P_

Chapter III

"Master Daniel!" Brucy come flying towards us, accompanied by another Danny flying right behind him. "Are you okay, master?"

"I'm fine, Bruce. I just need new clothes, that's all," Danny chuckles, arm extended for the birdie to land on it.

"Auros, dear, could you revert back to your own appearance? It's disturbing seeing Danny boy flying around," I frown at the shapeshifter, making them all laugh. She does as I ask and come to land on my head.

"Where's Tommy, Dougs?" She asks looking at me upside down. "I thought he was with you guys?"

"Let's go home. We have much to talk," I sigh, earning a nod from Danny.

It's not the right place, nor the moment to let the little squirrel know her owner got kidnapped by the one he was trying to save, and that we have absolutely no idea where to start searching for him. Bad news keep piling up, I tell you.

~#~

As expected, Aurora take the news badly and we decide to sleep the four of us in our living room, to give each other support, like some sort of sleepover, only that we all have our own rooms in the house. After crying herself to sleep under the protection of Brucy's wings, Aurora seems to finally get a bit of rest. Seeing them so cosy together makes me miss my Harry, how he holds me in his arms at night, like he'll shield me from any harm.

"I can _smell_ a feeling of longing coming from ya," Danny speaks out of blue, scaring me for a split second.

"I really don't know why I'm friends with you feeling-sensing freaks," I throw my pillow at him with a flick of my finger, looking pleased with myself as it hits square in the face. "But you are right, I miss Haz."

"I know how you feel," he arches his back to propel himself up with a leap, walking over to the window. "We have to bring them back."

"And we're going to," I teleport by his side, hugging him and pulling his head onto my shoulder. "Now let's get some sleep and we'll discuss a plan in the morning," I use my best encouraging smile.

"Dougs?"

"Yeah, Danny boy?"

"We forgot about the unconscious citizens?" He chuckles, before diving into his futon and covering his head.

"Shit!" I immediately send Fermion to build a barrier around the people. "The worse that can happen to them is being crapped on by some pigeon," I return to my own futon, suddenly feeling too tired.

~#~

We all feel a bit better in the morning, even if just for our physical condition. Danny's already making us breakfast when I enter the kitchen to give him a helping hand, and it doesn't take long till we're ready to fetch Brucy and Auros. I must say this has to be the quietest meal we ever had in this house, but it's no wonder, since we're short of two people –and because Tom's always my favourite target–.

"I'm calling a meeting at the library in 15 minutes," I stuff one last pancake in my mouth, eyeing the trio, receiving a nod from all.

Not even five minuter later, we're poring over a map of the city, talking about where to start searching for our friends. Like Danny wisely points, if they are still in the island, they are far enough that we can't sense –or smell, in Danny's case– their presences. Marking a perimeter we can cover, all that's left it's the far away region with The Agenda facility, the same where we battled Aladin and the man-eater slut years ago, and is now deactivated.

"Do you think they are still after us, master Dougie?" Bruce asks me, flapping his wings in a frenzy.

"I thought we had deported all of the people there?" Danny lets himself falls backwards, using his arms as a pillow. "I'm sure we didn't leave anyone behind!"

Dan is right about that. I remember scanning every inch of the fortress with Tom, and not leaving a single person behind. Chewing on my cheek, I make up my mind, telling them that we are going to visit the abandoned construction once more.

"What intrigues me the most is that fox-boy," I turn to look at Danny. "It seemed like he _knew_ who we were, as he told us that he didn't _"have interest in trash"_.

"My intuition says you two aren't useful to his purpose, but the question then is: what does he want from Harry and Tom?" Aurora climbed Danny's arm, sitting on his shoulder.

"That's what we're going to find out," I fold the map, shoving it inside my pocket.

It's a matter of minutes, before we're all set to go. The pets will look after the citizens whilst we go check what's going on. We won't give up until we have some clue about where to find our boyfriends.

~#~

The concept of time and space, as Tom knew, is being slowly ripped from his being, as the days pass by. In fact, he's not even sure if 'days' would apply to his current situation, since he has no idea of where he is, or how much time has passed since he 'talked' to Aldwin. He is still unsure about the nature of his conversation with the white-haired boy, but he does his best to keep the words in mind, not that he can do much about, since he's constantly slipping in and out of consciousness, being forced awake by some excruciating pain, trapped in complete darkness.

"_Where's Harry?"_ Tom thinks, squinting as he tries to locate his mate. It wouldn't be a problem for him, if he could just use his powers, but something seems to be draining his force, and he can't even struggle against his restraints.

"Who's... there?" Tom's speech is slurred, like he's drugged up, senses completely dull, but he's almost sure he can sense someone –or something– in the shadows.

A pair of silver eyes shine several feet away from him, scaring him with their sudden appearance. The eyes don't seem human, nor do they emanate a good feeling, and Tom's sure it can only mean more trouble for him.

"You're proving to be as resistant as your friend," a voice says, and the eyes start nearing the bound blond. "The information I have don't mention you being so tough."

"Who... are you? Where's... Harry?" The questions come out in puffs. There's something oppressive about about that presence, something that makes it even harder for Tom to breathe.

"Everything shall be revealed in the due time, Thomas. Go back to sleep," are the last words he hears, losing conscience one more time.

~#~

"Remember that we're after information, Danny boy. Let's avoid any confrontation," I take his hand in mine, ready to teleport us away.

"I get it, Donner," he rolls his eyes. "Hurry up, will ya?"

"Git," I discharge a bit of electricity to give him a shock, waving goodbye to out animal friends.

The next instant we're back to the open area that once served as battlefield. There are still holes, broken walls, fallen trees, and some stains from the wounds received. I shiver at the thought of something similar happening ever again, and Danny seems to smell the distress in me, as he nudge me in the shoulder, telling me to follow him and _"don't think too much"_.

Our walk take us to the main room, where we could see a huge inoperative computer under a substantial amount of dust. With a finger, I find that the machine hasn't know what a duster is for at least the two years that passed.

"Think you can make it work?" Danny takes some steps behind, hand over his nose.

"Shouldn't be hard," I shrug. "But we need to find the power source, I left Fermion behind, and the weather here makes it difficult to gather electricity enough to turn this _beast_ on."

"Consider it done," he sprints around the room, using his high speed to survey the place.

"I wonder if you have any information for us, big girl," I pat the control panel, hoping we can get some clue about where Hazza and Tom might be.

"Dougs! Come here!" Danny's down on one knee, tracing something on the floor. "I can feel wind blowing through here," he looks at me with a puzzled face.

"Are you sure, Dan? I can't feel–"

"Survival Code #2: Enraged Bull," his eyes flash black, and he opens a massive hole in the floor with a single punch, revealing a ladder that takes to some underground tunnel.

"Those people really have some obsession with hidden passages," I sigh, seeing Danny already motioning for me to follow him.

~#~

I can prove my theory when we're finally roaming tunnels lined with metal, mirroring the same construction under the Clock Tower, but with one main difference: they lead to another facility, an exact replica of the one above us.

"Am I seeing double?" I rub my eyes.

"Things are never normal, but this is too creepy even for us," Danny gulps, looking apprehensive.

"Well, we still need some answers, so..."

"I know, let's go," he says, entering the building.

'Creepy' seems like a bit of an understatement, when we finally get to see the building inside. What are rooms and offices in the fortress above ground level, here are just abandoned cells, many of them crawling with skeletons, human and animal bones alike. I can feel my insides trying to get my breakfast outside, which is not a good feeling. _At all._

"All right, Dougs?" I feel Dan put a hand on my shoulder. "You look sick."

"Maybe because we're inside a fucking lab/prison/graveyard reeking of death and dry bones?" I reply sarcastically, gesturing around us.

"It's not _that_ bad. I'm the one with heightened senses, remember?" He produces a hanky from one of his pockets and throws it at me.

"I hope this hasn't been used," I eye the cloth, tying it over my nose and mouth, as we keep walking.

We're almost at the other main control room, when I sense a familiar presence from the other side of the door. My heart starts beating faster, because I know that presence so well, and I miss it so much around me.

"Harry's here!" I shout, feeling my eyes welling up and dashing towards the big, closed doors.

"Dougie, wait! There's something off with–"

Before I have a chance to heed Danny's warning, an explosion sends the doors and me flying, Dan catching me before I hit one of the strong built walls. A ginger boy with a fist surrounded by flames emerges from the room, a maniacal grin –almost predatory– upon his face.

"Oh? Seems like this task won't be as boring as I thought," he crackles his knuckles, setting fire to both fists. "Who wants to die first?"


	4. Child of Fire

_Disclaimer: It's 2013 already. Do I own them, yet? No._

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter would've been up sooner, if I hadn't been attacked with all the feelings that made me write "Teach Me How to Love". :P_

_Thanks Google Translate for all the German used here. Some are not real words but a string of real words because I think it's cooler that way. Ha!_

_**Neon Douche **Haha! I hope it can get rid of some of your curiosity. Answers will come, I'm just not sure when. ;)_

Chapter IV

"Who the hell are you?" Danny's eyes flash gold, questioning the boy in front of us, who replies with a shrug.

"When someone asks you something, the polite thing to do is to answer properly, brat," I untangle myself from Dan's arms, thanking him and telling him to let me handle the situation.

The ginger shrugs again, giving me the middle finger, and I examine his appearance from head to toes. He sports a mohawk of flaming, bright hair; a row of spike-like piercings sprout from his cheekbones, and he's wearing what I can only think as a battle uniform, although his trousers seem a bit too baggy to let him move freely.

"I guess I can play with you two for a bit," he assumes a boxing instance, vanishing and reappearing behind me with a jab that I dodge with a quick movement, making some distance between us.

"That's–"

"Ooh, seems like you can use _blitzklingen_, too," he laughs in a mocking way, "I'm going to have some fun with you!" His grin is evil, and his eyes give away how bloodthirsty he is.

"Wrong, my boyfriend calls it 'flashstep' and I learned it from him," I start to accumulate some electricity in my fist, shooting it at him. "And who taught you that?"

The temperature in the room rises a bit more, an invisible wall dispersing my shot before it can hit the enemy. Danny crouches as he's probably readies himself to lung at the teen, but I tell him to just watch, explaining quickly my plan through telepathy.

"_Wandausluft,_" he spits on the floor. "You won't get me with this low level of yours! _Feuerdrache!_"

At his order, long flames shaped as a chinese dragon come out his hands, homing in on me with great speed. Since the option of dodging it isn't a valid one –it would only hit the computers behind me and we would just lose what would be our only clue to get the guys back–, I put up a psycho Shield that halts the dragon advance.

"Don't think those paper thin defences are going to stop me. You can only slow me down a bit."

Snapping his fingers, the dragon splits into two more heads, surprisingly not losing any of its power, but instead, tripling the pressure on me. The force is overwhelming, and my shield soon shatters, leaving me to receive a direct attack.

~#~

"Something bad happened," Aurora looks up to sky, feeling like something is twisting her guts. "I can't explain, but I'm sure that something happened!"

"Calm down, honey. What do you mean?" Bruce puts a wing around the momonga, pulling her closer.

"Dan and Dougs, I mean. Something bad happened to them, I feel it!"

"Don't worry, they know how to care of themselves. Master Dougie and Master Daniel survived rather harsh battles, they have combat experience," the little bird chirps, trying to cheer his girlfriend up. "Let's focus on the task they gave us, and let them do the rest, okay?"

"If you say so," Aurora sighs, not able to fully keep the thought out of her mind, praying that her intuition isn't right.

~#~

Even though I can feel the heat of all-consuming flames close to me, it doesn't feel like my skin is burning, and I wonder how much fried up are my nervous system that I can't even feel pain any more.

"I wonder how long you're going to sleep, you twat!"

Upon hearing Danny's voice, I crack an eye open, to see him standing in front of me, holding the dragon with his bare hands, skin completely green, resembling a lizard with blue eyes. With a bit of effort, he crushes the flames, that dissipate as smoke, the grin on the ginger boy's lips gone with it.

"Survival Code #11: Dragon Skin," Danny hisses, shifting back to his old self and whacking me in the head. "I can't believe that you almost got yourself killed! That's why I wanted to fight him!" He pulled me into a quick hug, not losing sight of the nameless boy.

"Not my fault if that idiot thinks he can go all out inside the building," I reason. "Oi, Coal boy! We're taking it outside and you're going to be sorry!" The next instant I teleport us outside, to what would be a twin space to where we fought Danny on the above fortress.

"You two are interesting. _Vater_ didn't tell me that I could find people like you here," the ginger smirks. "I'm Salazar, who are you two?"

"I don't who your father is, but I probably don't know him," I shrug. "I'm Douglas, he's Daniel."

"Well, seems like I've underestimated you, Douglas." Salazar shakes his head. "Don't worry, now I'm going to defeat you with all my power."

"Sorry, Coal boy. We have to find our friends, and I think you might be related to it, so I'll have to _knock_ the truth out of you," I make a spear with my _chi_ and start spinning it.

"That's more how I like it," the pair of studded bracelets on his wrists start to glow. "Howl and burn, Cerberus!"

The bracelets turn into flaming knuckledusters, and the Salazar kid comes at me with a series of jabs and uppercuts that seem to sear the air itself, revealing the rather high temperature of his fists that I try to avoid at any costs.

"Is that all, Douglas? You move pretty well, but I won't let you escape," he ceases his blows. "_Brandopfer!_"

I can hear Danny screaming my name, but a dome of flames encloses us in a minimal area before I can have a proper reaction. Even if the creepy coal kid called it by a different name –and I'm fairly sure it's German– , I know this technique all too well.

"Why are you able to use Tom's abilities?" I narrow my eyes, teeth gritting at the thought that he may know something about my mate's whereabouts.

"I already told you my name, you don't need any more information to take to your fucking _grave_," he vanishes again, ready to strike me from behind.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice," I stop his punch with my bare hand, "and you're going to tell me everything, you brat!" I start to absorb all of his flames, transforming them in electricity to power myself up.

"_I don't know how that would be useful to you,"_ I remember Tom's voice telling me when he helped me to master this ability. "Thunderbolt," I let a massive discharge of energy hits the ginger boy, numbing his body and damaging him enough to halt his movements.

"This little shit really thought he could beat you, huh?" Danny chuckles by my side, now that the flame cage is gone. "Good work, Dougs."

~#~

"I'll have to give your friends some credit," the voice without a face that keeps paying Tom regular visits speaks from inside the everlasting shadows. "I thought they were even weaker than they are, but they are still alive."

"Why... are you... doing this?" Tom forces one eye open with just sheer willpower; every muscle of his body seems drained of all energy, he can barely speak in huffs, and he's constantly in pain, whenever he finds himself somewhat conscious, bound to some sort of flat, cold surface.

"I told you many times, everything will be revealed in the due time, Thomas," the silvery eyes gleam. "If you excuse me, I have some matters to attend to."

With those words Tom's alone again. Just him and the dark room that only provides him with shadows everywhere he looks, and he's not even sure if it's really a room –it could be a cave, for all that he can see–. His exhausted body soon gives in to the tiredness, and the blond is again back to the dreamland, where he meets a familiar kid a second time.

"Al?" he risks, crouching down to be on the boy's eye level.

"Bo, you're back!" The red-eyed kid throws his tiny arms around Tom's neck. "How are you?"

"Not too good, to be honest," he sighs, ruffling Aldwin's white hair. "I'm still alive, but I have no clue where I am, or where are Harry and the others guys."

Tom explains the little he knows about what's happening, and he's secretly glad that he at least has Aldwin to talk, even if that's nothing more than a dream. It helps to keep him grounded and sane, a bit of protection from what's happening to him in the real world.

"Daniel and Douglas are coming to rescue you," the little boys smiles, prompting Tom to do the same as he pokes the blond on the cheek. "You have great friends."

"They're your friends, too. Don't you ever forget that," he tickles the white-haired boy.

He wants to ask Aldwin more things, but resigns to just play with him and have a bit of normality. _"Danny will come to rescue me, I have to believe that."_ He thinks to himself, sweeping the boy in his arms and making aeroplane noises as they run around the room having mindless fun.

~#~

"We can always do it the hard way," I tap my foot impatiently, watching the scowling teenager on the ground.

"I don't think _Vater_ would approve of me telling you anything," he tries to breathe fire on my face, but stops when Danny twists his arm a bit.

"You really don't want to see Danny serious, he used to do some heavy shit back in the day," I say nonchalantly, inspecting my nails with a new found interest. "And I can do some nasty damage to your brain, maybe turn you into an eggplant. Your call, really."

The threat seems to work, as Salazar starts telling us that his mission consists of destroying the underground fort and getting rid of evidences that could _"hinder Vater's plans"._

"And who would be that _Vater –_Father_– _of yours that you keep mentioning? Is he the one who sent you here? What does he–"

"You talk way too much, Salazar," a female voice fills the air, interrupting me.

A torrent of water falls upon us, washing over the entire area with great ferocity. I swim to take hold of a branch, pulling myself from the stream and trying to locate Danny boy. The water starts swirling down, as if being drained, and I see a soaked Dan with his fist buried in a huge hole, making it easy to deduce what he had done.

My eyes scan the remaining of the terrain quickly, and I see a beautiful girl with long baby blue hair and ocean blue eyes holding Coal boy's unconscious body slung over one of her shoulders, staring at my brunet friend with a deadly look. Her hair is pinned on the sides with what resembles coral and pearls, her uniform consisting of a bushy skirt that resembles the fins of a lionfish and a combat waistcoat that serves as her top.

"I'm taking him back," she snarls menacingly.


	5. Fading Hope

_Disclaimer: I can only hope to own them._

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter would've been up sooner, if I hadn't been attacked with all the feelings that made me write "Another Lesson in Love". :P_

Chapter V

"I'm taking him back," the blue-haired girl states, carrying an unconscious Salazar on her shoulders.

"We're not done with him," Danny points to the ginger. "We're letting him go after he gives us the information we need."

"I don't think you understand what I said,_ lower life,_" she speaks again, voice icy and cold. "I'm not asking for your permission."

"We'll see about that," Dan quickly brings out his rosary, wordlessly morphing it into a gun and shooting four times in her direction. "Manticore Strike!"

"I don't have time for your little games," the strange girl reaches her hand out, gathering water around it. "Aqua arrows."

Four projectiles collide with Dan's bullets, obliterating them completely. With a last wave of her hand, the water in the puddles around us form a veil over her, allowing her and her presence to vanish in thin air. Danny drops to his knees in disbelief, punching the ground as he tries to sniff their location.

"They not here, Danny boy," I sigh, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I can't feel their presences."

"We lost the only chance to get a clue about where Tom and Haz are," he scowls at me, although I know he's not mad at me, but as frustrated as I am.

Deciding we wouldn't get nowhere by staying here, I pull Danny back into the subterranean fortress. This time we're only leaving the building after getting some concrete evidence that our boyfriends are still alive and well.

~#~

Cracking the security to the huge database proved a bit more difficult than I have anticipated, even with my abilities and genius. After 30 minutes of intellectual labour, I finally get access to the info present in both fortresses, many records of people working in the Polaris project, as well as some of its subjects –us and every living person in Deepsea City–. What gets my attention, though, is the fact that Bruce is the only non-human that has his record there, and even so, it's nicely hidden, camouflaged with some random data that meant nothing.

"_Dan, wake up,"_ I call him up telepathically. "Come see this!"

"That's Bruce. What's the matter?" He bends down to keep watching the screen over my shoulder, cocking an eyebrow, whilst having a puzzled look on his face.

"How _exactly _you and Brucy met?" I ask him, not really tearing my eyes from the screen.

"He's been with me for as long as I can remember. Why?"

"Brucy's records were sort of hidden, and he's the only non-human with information available," I start chewing the inside of my cheek, folding my arms as I try to put the pieces together. "Plus, the Polaris project doesn't seem to have anything to do with animals, and he certainly _isn't_ an ordinary bird."

"Are you saying what I think you might be saying?"

"Yup. Seems like Bruce isn't product of the same project as ourselves, and I don't think the information we want is located inside this island," I run a hand through my hair, exhaling loudly in frustration. "I hope you fancy a trip to the outside world, Dan."

~#~

"You two what?" Aurora shrieked, panicking in a fashion totally Tom-like.

"Calm down, Auros," I bite a laugh back because she really reminds of Tom. "We're not going today or anything, I still need to calculate a few things."

Like Danny, Bruce has absolutely no idea of how or when he first met his owner, something reasonable, as somebody is trying to hide some details from my friends' past. Aurora also has no idea of what I want to know, so I really have no option but to make some preparatives for our expedition, taking note of everything we'll need, as well as plotting a plan with our next actions.

All the analysis I've been making on the data we got earlier leaves me feeling a bit knackered, the other three are long lost in the dreamland, and looking at the wall clock I can understand why: it's already two in the morning. Closing my laptop, I push my chair back with a stretch followed by a traitorous yawn, revealing that I may be more tired than I previously thought.

"I miss you," I whisper to no one, picking up the photograph of me and the boys on my table. Harry is carrying me in his arms whilst I kiss him in the cheek. Tom is at his right, seemingly sighing at our antics, and Danny is grinning like a fool –with his mouth open–, Aurora and Bruce on each of his arms.

We're sort of a dysfunctional family, if you really think about it. Not that I really mind, as they are _my_ family and I don't know what I really would do, or where I would be without them. My thoughts are interrupted by an arm looping around my neck and the pain caused by knuckles being rubbed against my head.

"You're smelling like sadness, ya twat!"

"And you're just being the arse you are," I shove Dan away, immediately bringing a hand to my afflicted scalp. "That hurt, git!"

"Now you smell like you're annoyed," he chuckles. "That's better, innit?"

"I hate you. You and Tummy," I scowl at him.

"It smells like a lie," he sniffs the air, pulling me into a hug. "We're going to find them, Dougs. I promise," his tone rapidly changes from playful to a serious one.

That's when everything finally sink in, and I let the tears fall freely, burying my face on Danny's chest, hugging him back as tightly. He just rubs my back, whispering soothing words and telling me to stop feeling so down, or he would choke himself to death in the foul scent my emotions were giving off, which actually makes me laugh a bit.

"Now it's time for you to sleep," his nails turn into blue glowing claws that he pierces through my stomach, making me pass out as soon as I realise what he he did to me. "Goodnight, Donner."

~#~

"Are you feeling better, Dougster?"

I open my eyes to be greeted with Aurora delicate figure peering into my eyes, the squirrel's shiny tiny orbs darkened with worry.

"I'm fine, Auros," I place her on my head, teleporting us to kitchen, where Dan and Bruce are preparing our breakfast. "Morning, guys."

"Good Morning, master Dougie. Feeling any better, sir?" Bruce lands on my shoulder, greeting Aurora with a kiss.

"Thanks, Brucy," I scratch the plumes under his beak. "I wish your owner was a bit more gentle, but I reckon he's not _that_ different from you.*****"

"Stop whining and eat your breakfast," a plate piled with pancakes is shoved in face, revealing a grinning Dan behind it. "I even closed the wound."

A quick lift of my shirt reveals no mark or scar whatsoever, and he just shrugs like it's nothing at all. The pets also join us on our meal, and it doesn't take long before we're finished and back to living room to discuss what are the next steps or the plans for today.

"First we need to do something about all the citizens, we can't let them sleep forever," I open the island map on floor, indicating the areas we need to act upon. "I'll erase their memories from the Festival, temporarily making them forget everything about us as to avoid mass panic."

"Sounds... complicated," I see Danny frown.

"Not really, Danny boy, but it will take me the whole day," I fold my arms, watching the three of them. "I want you to take care of the items in this list. Brucy, Auros, go help Dan, okay?" I ask for their cooperation, receiving a nod from both in response.

~#~

The whole erasing/replacing has me worn out at the end of day; it's almost evening when Aurora comes flying to land on my shoulder, telling their task is already completed. I ask her to go fetch Bruce and tell him to wake everybody people, as me and Danny should leave next day in the morning. As I watch her fly away, I feel a cold breeze blow my hair, dark clouds gathering in the sky, announcing an incoming storm.

"_This is weird, I don't remember scheduling a storm for today," _the first droplets fall on my cheek, proving my hunch to be right.

The downpour that comes next forces me to teleport back home, just in time to see a soaked Aurora land on the balcony. She starts asking me what is happening, but I ignore her, going straight to my office to check the weather controlling system. I can feel the colour draining from my face when the diagnostic coupled with a danger warning flashes across the screen.

"Dougie, the sky is falling down," Danny barges in, not bothering to knock. "What the hell?"

"We have to find Tom _soon_," I swallow a new formed lump in my throat. "If we don't, the whole island will be crushed under the water pressure."

***see The Agenda, chapter 19 - Of Mind, Body & Soul.**


	6. Business Trip

_Disclaimer: I wouldn't be here if I owned a thing._

_A/N: I'm giving this story a break. Not abandoning it, but I just don't feel that motivated right now. I'll focus on "In the Wrong Shoes" for the time being. Sorry!_

Chapter VI

"Father, I've returned."

"Welcome back, my child," a deep male voice greets from behind the huge chair a peculiar figure was sitting on, gazing through glass wall in front of him. "How is Salazar?"

"He's sleeping now, recovering from his last fight," the girl with long blue hair, drops to her knee, bowing as she goes on with her report.

The owner of the powerful voice spins his chair around, revealing a tall man with athletic body and long black hair tied up in a ponytail. He takes some steps to where the girl is with on the floor with her head bowed and puts his hand on her head –his tanned skin contrasting greatly against the blue threads of hair– briefly petting the teenager.

"You also did great," he says, taking his hand away. "Go rest for a bit, I'll deal with everything else."

"Thank you, Father," she replies with her head still bowed, disappearing inside a whirlpool.

~#~

Thinking about the previous night still makes me shiver, a cold sensation running down my spine that gives me a hard time keeping my breakfast in. Seems like with Tom being kidnapped and all, the barrier that allows us to live peacefully at the bottom of the ocean is starting to decay. I honestly don't think we can manage to last more than seven days. Six, now that I'm finishing a patch to minimise the drastic changes in the weather.

"Ready, Donner?" Danny's head pops up from behind the door. I must be looking like shit, because he gives a doubly concerned look. "You ok, mate?"

"I'm fine, Dan," I try my best to smile, but in my efforts it just seems forced. "We have other things to worry about."

"Like Harry would forgive me if I let something bad happen to you," he rolls his blues eyes. It's something that makes me chuckle because Tom's the one usually doing that. "Go get some sleep, you've been up all night."

"I'm fi–"

In a split second I find myself in a headlock, claws dangerously hovering over my stomach. Maybe it's because it's Danny, or maybe I'm indeed too much tired to care, but the only response I can emit is a tired sigh along a cocked eyebrow.

"This is the part where you threatens to put me to sleep by force, right?"

"There are times when I forget that you're the smart one," he laughs, his whole body shaking as if it's a really funny joke. "We can wait till lunchtime to leave."

"I'm going to my room and we're leaving 10 AM," I teleport out of his grip, reappearing by the door "No objections."

"Yes, your majesty," I hear take the piss on me, before I close the door behind me and head back to my room.

My body seems to like the idea of sleeping for a few hours, as I slip out of consciousness almost immediately, the smell of Harry that lingers on our bed assaulting my nostrils and making my heart ache for not knowing where he is or if he's relatively safe. I can see him in my dreams, sweeping me off my feet in his strong arms, laughing and humming silly songs.

"Hazza," I mumble in my sleep, dreams filled with images of my Harry and how he makes feel loved.

~#~

"Please, think thoroughly before doing anything," Aurora warns us for what must the 21th time. She's like an girl/animal version of Tom, I swear!

"Don't worry, Auros," I smile, adjusting the bag on my back after checking for the necessary items. "Thinking is my thing," I finish with a wink at her.

"Make a safe return, Master Daniel," Bruce chirps, naturally less concerned than Aurora, but I reckon he's just like Danny; he don't usually worry about the things. "You too, Master Dougie!"

"I altered the weather system to work via voice command, but you don't really need to do anything as the patch I finished should adjust things by itself," I explain slowly to both pets, my eyes glancing between each of them. "The weather will still be unpredictable, so be careful with thunderstorms and stuff like that."

Finally saying our goodbyes, I grab a copy of my notes with the point where we should go to leave to the surface world. I'm scared shitless, though I'm trying my best to keep it from Danny, telling him that we should go back to visit some places after all this crap is over.

Being the annoying little prick he is, Dan tells me that I don't need to pretend with him, as he already breathing through his mouth to avoid smelling the dread and uneasiness coming off of me. I kick him in the shin, immediately regretting my action as he rearranges the cells of his skin to something rigid, leaving all the pain to me.

"If we don't find Tom soon, I swear that he'll be single the next time I see him," I glare, taking the huge freckled hand in mine and teleporting us to the surface.

~#~

"Did you want to see me, _Vater?_" Salazar bows, the blue-haired girl that saved him the day before mimicking his instance.

"Yes, Salazar, my child," The mysterious man rises from his chair, eyeing both teenagers as he takes some steps closer to where they kneel. "Your sister Liora told me that you encountered some hindrances during your task–"

The boy scowls at the girl from the corner of his eye, but suddenly finds himself pinned to the wall, about a meter high from the floor, his throat feeling constricted as he tries to wrestle out of the invisible grasp.

"Your mission was solely to destroy the place, am I correct?" The man's eyes glow orange a firey orange, although his voice remains as calm as nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

"_Va_... _ter_... Can't... breathe," the ginger coughs the words, feeling the air being squeezed out of his lungs, a heavy pressure over his chest making the room too small. "Sorry, _Vater!_"

The pressure is gone, and Salazar falls on all fours, sitting up to rub his neck. He can see Liora smirking from the place she is, but can't do nothing in the presence of their Father, so he decides to take his revenge on her later.

"Now that you understand that, I have another mission for you, Child of Fire," the man sits back on his chair, dismissing the girl with a flick of his hand.

~#~

"Wow," I breathe out, feeling exhausted after transporting us over such a long distance, watching the land before me.

"This is London," Danny grins at me, helping back to my feet. "We'll need clothes that won't draw too much attention," he gestures between our uniforms.

"I know that, Danny boy. I was there writing the plan, remember?" I pull him by the hand towards the mainland. "Let's do it before the invisibility devices run out of energy and–"

We're not even five minutes in this strange outside world, and I find myself being slung over Danny's shoulder as he sprints among a crowd and drops me in front of an ATM machine. I know what that means, because I've been studying how things work in the surface world, and the humans here seem to base their trades around this money stuff.

"Think you can do it?" He watches me with those big blue eyes. "Not too tired, are ya?"

"I dragged us from the bottom of the sea –literally, may I add–, I'm sure that I can extract some money from this machine," I say in a annoyed tone, placing my hand on the machine and watching the banknotes gush out.

Danny starts shoving them in his bag, giving me a lecture about how it's wrong and everything, but it's not like I'm taking it from anybody's account. Plus, it doesn't have any use where we live; we just need it to get shelter and food till we can locate our first target.

"Give me a minute," I look up just in time to see my freckled friend work his 'animal mojo'. "Survivor Code #4: Sprinting Cheetah," he dashes away with incredible speed, telling me to take care of our stuff.

In fact, it doesn't take long before he returns with a pile of clothes for us to change into. It all seems pretty comfy, but I reckon that we can't hold a single battle in those things. Dan gives me an ok sign, and once again I'm being slung around like some bloody baggage, as he sprints to a small hotel he saw on his way back.

~#~

"Good morning, may we have a room for two?" I smile at the girl behind the counter, and for a instant I think there might be something on my face because she looks sort of _mesmerised_.

"We only have double beds available, is that okay?" She replies, looking from me to Danny, who's a few feet away, _talking_ to a caged bird.

"Oh, that's okay!" I grin again "The four of us often sleep together," I reply, not fully understanding why she starts to mumble something about 'shipping' and fanning herself. The girl is nuts.

"Here's your key, Mr. Poynter," she hands them to me, finishing filling some papers and pointing the staircase that leads to our room.

"Thanks... Mackenzie," I read her tag, smiling one last time.

I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle to get Danny's attention, telling him to follow me. We enter our room and I'm surprised to see that's even smaller than my bathroom back when me and Haz lived in the flat.

I hear Danny say something about the bird he was talking to wanting out from that cage, but I'm too much annoyed with what he's currently doing to pay any attention or ask him to repeat it.

"Daniel Jones, get down from there in this very instant!" I hiss in a mother-like manner, watching as he runs like an idiot around the ceiling fan. _Yep_, he's running upside down on the fucking _ceiling_. "I won't say it twice, young lad," I fold my arms, fighting the urge to just numb his body and let him fall to the floor. It's so hard to take care of kids these days...


	7. What the Hack?

_Disclaimer: I wouldn't be here if I owned a thing, would I?_

_A/N: Ugh, it's so weird going back to it after so long! I apologise to the few people who might be reading it. Just rest assured that as long as I'm breathing, I don't plan on leaving any unfinished work around (I just can't promise it will be a long story, though). ;)_

_For the older readers that are still around, thanks for your patience. For the new readers, thanks for coming, may you find some entertainment in this piece. Special thanks to __**Galaxydefender49**__ for believing in the potential of this story after so long!_

_**xxPUDDxx** Thank you! I feel strangely proud of 'Devil', maybe because it's something different from what I usually do. Hehe! And yes, I'm now sure that I can only offer pervy!Dougie. Literally, there's not a single story of mine he's not like that! BWAhaha! xo_

Chapter VII

Research proves somewhat easier than I think, as I take some notes of what course of action to follow next, handing them to Dan. We don't really know what might happen, and I reckon it's better that we anticipate the possibility of splitting up to cover more ground.

"This place has the answers we need?" he flicks his eyes across the papers in his hands, then looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes and no. You could say it's just a proxy," I sigh. "But it's almost certain that it will take us to where the gold is."

"And we're leaving...?"

"Now, if you want to find Tummy and Haz as soon as humanly possible."

He smiles back and his eyes flash gold. With a quick scoop movement, Danny throws me over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, sprinting through the window of our little hotel room. I'm glad for my quick thinking –I turned us both invisible before being handled like baggage for the second time since we got here– or we should have much to explain as to why my friend apparently doesn't know how doors work and seems to be kidnapper.

~#~

We finally arrive at a colourful, fancy looking building encased mostly in shinning glass windows. My research tells me this is one of the biggest companies where I could easily get access to information from all around the globe, including some confidential data that isn't open to their marketed public.

Satellites are really an awesome thing about the outer land. Nothing can really escape the spacial lens orbiting around the planet, and this is exactly what makes our little trip here so beneficial to our mission; it's like having a very detailed map within your reach.

"You can stay here if you want, Danny boy," I pull a few ultra density storage discs from my bag and shove them in my pockets. "This is a stealthy mission, no need to worry about me."

"I didn't know I came here as a bodyguard," he scoffs, laughing loudly soon after.

"You didn't, I'm a big boy who can take care of himself," I flick him in the nose, vanishing inside the modern construction before he can come back at me.

The atmosphere is really nice, once I'm inside my target. People seem relaxed and enjoying what they're doing, most of them sitting in front of a computer screen. Others seem to be discussing things about a new project or product, I'm not really sure, but all these little distractions are pushed from my mind as my objective once again gets clear: accessing their mapping database.

"_I wish I had more time to study things here,"_ I sigh inwardly, thinking of how many interesting things I could find out.

A short stroll takes me to a big screen with a digital map, a glowing red spot showing me my current location. It seems like the building goes deeper into ground level, and there's where I'm going to find what I'm after. Ceasing the golden opportunity to be able to freely move –after a quick scanning shows me there's no other living form at the lowest level at the moment, I teleport myself to a rather cold room.

"Freezing hell! No wonder there's not even a spider living here!" I set a little output of my own energy to keep me heated.

The place is completely different from what is above me: metallic, cold, dull. The only things that keep the room from total silence are the noises from the massive computer and the air system providing cold breeze. For more impressive the place is, I don't have the time to gawp at it forever, stepping closer to the machine in front of me and touching it.

"Come on, baby. Tell me all your secrets," I close my eyes, focusing on any suspect areas that could possibly host a secret plan of dubious genetic experiments with human beings. It can't be that hard, right?

~#~

Bruce lands on a branch from where Aurora watches a few kids playing tag, albeit her mind is wandering miles away, and she fails to acknowledge his presence. It's not before he's nuzzling his beak into her fur, that the momonga finally notices she's not alone.

"I can feel you're still worried," he chirps. "Is it about master Tom?"

"All of them, but especially Tom," she admits with a frown.

"Don't worry, my love. I already said that they went through so much in the past, I'm sure they can overcome any challenge in the future."

"Something _really_ bad is going to happen this time. Call it intuition or whatever," the squirrel adamantly shakes her head, both pets completely unaware of a pair of eyes spying on them from the shadow of a nearby building.

~#~

"What's taking him so long? That wanker probably got himself in trouble again."

"_'That wanker' _has made actual progress and we're ready to visit our next destination," I slap Danny the prick behind his head.

"That easy?" He glares back, though I'm sure such a slap would hurt him.

"Duh, things are easier for brainy people," I send him a positive sign coupled with a wink.

"Said no one, ever," he scoffs for... what, third time today? "Out with the new plan!"

"Sidekicks aren't what they used to be," I take his hand and teleport ourselves back to our room. We have much to discuss over our next move, but I'm fairly positive about that, and we're going to find our boyfriends at last!

Dan lies sprawled in his bed watching me hook some wires and set the equipment for a short presentation. I know, we could do without something that pompous, but it would be easier to explain with images to Dan. Furthermore, the information is already whole in digital media, it's not like I'll have to do a single thing besides choosing what interest us.

"Listen, Danny boy," I clear my throat to give it some formality, although the fucker just rolls his eyes at me. "Unfortunately, we don't have any decisive info on where we should begin searching."

"Wha'? You don't know where they are?" he sits upright, looking appalled by what I'm saying.

"Let me finish, Jungle boy. These are the areas that seem to be critical to the security of this country," I light some red dots on the holographic map. "As you can see, there are many of them for us two to investigate thoroughly in just one day."

"Meaning we can't get this task done by trial and error," he brings one of his large hands to rub his chin, slowly understanding where I'm getting at.

"Exactly! And as you're fully aware, we can't afford to waste two or three days when we don't know what that demi toddler plans on doing to Tom and Haz."

"I get it," Dan starts biting on his thumb, eyes never leaving the floating image. "What ya suggest, then?"

"You're quick on the uptake, I like that!" I smirk at the fact he knows I already have a plan to narrow our possibilities. "I propose a massive attack to hack into their databases: I'm going to choose one of these units, and keep them all busy dealing with a DoS –Denial of Service– attack whilst I hack into the others. Naturally, the one with most obstacles will most likely be the one we're looking for."

"Because a project experimenting with human lives wouldn't be something they would want the world to know about," Dan leaps to his feet, crushing me with a hug and spinning me in the air. "You're a genius, Dougs!" he gives me a sloppy kiss on the cheek, finally putting me down.

"Tell me something I don't know," I shrug, to which he punches me lightly. "I chose this spot as it's the closest to our current position. Now, let's go fill our bellies!"

~#~

"I miss Tom's cooking _so fucking_ much," I say to Danny, still dreading the not-so-delicious meal Mackenzie and her team have to offer in this little hotel. They have good intentions and all, but their cooking doesn't really match their will to help.

"You can tell him tha' when we find them," I hear him chuckle and zip up a bag we're taking with us in our next expedition. "Come on, we gotta go."

And then we head out to our next destination, arriving at a heavily guarded base. There are guards everywhere, each team composed of three people facing one of the four directions. Danny gives me a sign with his eyes pointing to a squad of snipers located at the highest point of the building, and motions to follow him somewhere a bit farther from them.

"Should we try an underground entrance?"

"They must have the important stuff down there, meaning even more security," a nip at my bottom lip reveals that I'm plotting a new strategy. "Can you pull an electric fish from your animal mojo, Dan?"

~#~

The energy supplied by Danny helps me a scan of the whole area in no more than 15 minutes, every detail about passageways and rooms unveiled to us with relative ease. He looks pretty tired from all the effort, but considering my plan this task will demand a big effort and it's better that I just save my own to extract the boys' whereabouts – and dispatch the attack that will serve as a diversion –.

"I'll leave this to you," he gives me a weak smile, muscles too tired even for a proper laugh. I only nod in his direction and with a deep breath I vanish, making myself reappear inside the fortress-like structure nearby.

"Bingo!" I walk over to the main computer, cracking my knuckles with a grin. This time I'm not leaving without getting some answers that will (hopefully) take me to my friends. The counter attack begins now.


	8. Gravediggers

_Disclaimer: It's not like I'm some JK Rowling in the making or something, is it? This won't make millionaire nor will I get any profit out of it. _

_A/N: I'm not even sure about this story, any more. This chapter has been rolling around in my folder (unfinished) for more than a bit more than a month, and then I started writing what would be the 3 final chapters, all the while having this huge void between this one and the ones I'm working on? Better rush things up and get the hell out of here._

Chapter VIII

It wasn't hard for Danny to imagine how much success Dougie achieved in his task. In fact, it was way easier than it he would have wanted it, the foul smell of distress and panic wafting from the enormous military building making it hard for him to breathe through his nose. Having acute senses could be such a pain in the arse.

"You better bring me my Tommy back, Dougs," he chuckled meekly, still spent from all the previous effort, whole body aching even to a simple smile. He didn't even have to concentrate hard enough to pick up on all exasperated messages coming over the radio to the security and other members of the squad.

"_We're being hacked, Sir!"_

"_The doors and other functionalities aren't responding properly!"_

"_Communication with other bases have been shut down!"_

"_The attack seems to be coming from ATM machines all over the country! How is that possible?"_

To be quite frank, Danny himself had no idea what exactly that meant in technical aspects, but whatever was it that Dougie was doing, it was something unexpected and impressive. Not that Danny would want to contribute to getting his friend's ego more pumped than it already was, but he knew the self-proclaimed genius was, indeed, a _genius_.

~#~

"I'm knackered," Dan says, burying his face on his pillow and hogging half of our bed, despite the fact he almost broke my neck upon hearing the good news earlier.

"Considering you almost snapped my neck like a twig, when you shouldn't be able to move a single muscle, I dare say I'm impressed."

Surprisingly as it seems, he doesn't say anything back nor chucks anything at me, prompting me to go check on him and find he's long asleep. Maybe it's the strain on his body (and mind) or knowing that we're closer to find our mates again, but a smile appears on his face, and in no time he's drooling – more like heavily leaking. I swear he'll _drown_ in it– like all his worries are no longer a weight on our shoulders.

"Sleep well, Dan. I still have a few things to take care before I can hit the sack," I ruffle his hair, getting up to fetch my laptop. In no time a massive amount of encrypted data flows across the screen in rapid succession, as I start to analyse the remaining disks I have in my pockets to make sure nothing is being left out.

~#~

When the next morning finally comes, me and Dan are all set to go, still wearing our commoner's clothes, and all of our belongings stuffed in our bags. We bid Mackenzie and her crew goodbye, tipping generously before we leave. Although the service they provide isn't what you could call five stars, I reckon that I _might _be the reason for a peak on their electric energy consumption and it wouldn't be fair to impose ourselves like that. Plus, we don't have any use for money where we live.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Dougs."

"Just remember that we should avoid unnecessary fights at any costs, and if we cross paths with Coal boy and Dew girl we restrain them on the spot, got it?" I take his hand, receiving a nod in response, and in the next instant we are standing in the middle of some forest thick with tall trees, a placid lake a few feet ahead.

Dan gives me a look that I quickly understand as a questioning about our current location and I just shrug. It's not that we got lost – I wouldn't forgive me myself for committing such an error at this point – and apparently we have yet another underground base to raid. Can't they make things easier for us, just once?

~#~

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

'Utter chaos' would be an understatement, were I to describe the institute below the bottom of the lake. Everything is now a pile of ashes, debris and human skeletons burnt to a crisp, the horrible smell of fried flesh almost summoning my breakfast back from my guts. My eyes are prickling with heated, stationery air that's heavy with ashes and flying embers, but there isn't much we can do, so we press on, walking towards the innermost part of the facility.

"Step back, Dougie. I'll take these doors down," Danny tells me, balling his fists to pry our way open.

Coating his hands with his dragon mojo, he tears the huge doors down like thin paper, more smoke and embers coming out of the now open room. To our surprise, amidst all the smoke, a fire burns fiercely near more burnt skeletons loitering the floor, and a figure steps outside the flames with bright yellow eyes seemingly ablaze, giving us a mocking smirk.

"You two, again? Can't say I'm really surprised, _Vater_ warned about this possibility," the ginger boy snorted, cracking his neck left and right. "But we're not fighting now, you'll have to wait for it. If you keep yourselves alive, obviously."

"You're not going anywhere, this time," Dan sprints to attack Samuel, though he ends up tackling a fireball that knocks him back. He punches the debris covered floor, looking clearly upset, and I can understands why.

"Don't get so upset, Dan. Now we know for sure they have the guys with them," I pat his shoulder, crouching to clean his face with a handkerchief, despite his protests. "He wouldn't be trying to hinder us, otherwise."

"I would feel better if I got to punch him, though."

"Same, mate. Let's hang to that thought and we'll certainly have our chance. Now let's see if we can save anything from all this pile of thrash, because there's nobody still alive."

Danny shoots up with narrowed eyes and crawls to a pile of broken machinery and rubble stands, his movements too sudden to give a clue about what he's thinking of. He waves back at me, and tells me to help him put the fire out, as he can hear a weak heart beating in the room.

"I can't sense anyone, but I know better than ignore your instincts," I scatter the many cores of Fermion and start to suck the heat in them, eventually making all the flames die out. When I look back at Dan, he's digging a bruised middle-aged woman from underneath that mess.

~#~

"Wake up, ma'am. Can you hear me?" I slap her face lightly, trying to wake her up.

Whoever this woman is, she's probably the only one who can help us, since scavenging for anything useful would be a hell of work that could result in nothing. Her condition is pretty delicate, but I can still sense a faint spark of life force in her and Danny says she's not reeking of death yet, which is a good thing, I presume.

"What happened?" She coughs harshly and we help her to sit up against the remainders of a charred sofa, giving her some water to drink.

"We don't know exactly what happened, all we can say for sure is tha' you're alive."

"Daniel, is that you?" Her eyes well up with tears and she pulls my friend into an unexpected hug.

I'm not sure from where she knows him – hell, doesn't look like Danny is, either –, but her reaction seems as genuine as the tears dampening his curls. After a moment, she pulls away from him, apologising for her behaviour, whilst wiping her eyes and still coughing.

"I think it's safe to say you know Danny boy, ma'am. Can you help us? We're sorta lost," I extend my hand to her. "I'm–"

"I know _exactly_ who you are, Douglas," she smiles, and this time it's me being smothered into a warm hug. _Now, who's this lady?_

_~#~_

"_Vater_, I'm back from my mission," Salazar knelt down, bowing his head as he started his report. "That annoying human duo showed up once again."

"Seems like I've underestimated those two! That blond one seems more intelligent than he appears to be."

The tall man with dark hair spun on his chair, holding a goblet containing some thick beverage that swirled around in it. He took some steps placing his free hand on his child's head, praising the teenager for a task successfully completed and telling him to go give his siblings the good news.

"Tell your sisters and brothers that most likely we'll have to fight them in very immediate future. You're all allowed to use your full power to crush those insects, when the time comes." His lips slightly turned up into a thin, gleeful smile. "Go, now, Child of Fire."

"As you wish, _Vater_." The ginger boy vanished with a crackle of flames to go meet his siblings.

~#~

"We don't have much time, and once we execute my plan, there's no turning back. Are you sure you want to hear any of what I have to tell?" Mrs. Jay –the lady with us– stares at us with a frown, which only disappears when we both nod and she starts having another coughing fit. Despite our efforts to give her some decent first-aid, she probably inhaled too much smoke in the fire, that added to her condition, only makes breathing really hard for her.

"Anything to save my boys," I sit in front of her with legs in lotus position, and Dan does the same.

"Then, let me tell you what I know about the Antares Project, predecessor of the Polaris Project. We sinned not only once, but twice, and it seems like we're destined to be forever haunted by those shameful acts," she takes a deep breath, before beginning her story.


	9. Countermeasures

_Disclaimer: Just feelings, no money._

_A/N: I figured that I should try to get my updates a bit more frequent if I plan on ending this story before 2015! I'll be busier than usual the next two months, so I'll try to get something every Saturday or Sunday. Feeling darn sad because everyone's going away. This fandom is doomed! :(_

Chapter IX

Sometimes, science can assume a really ugly face and steamroller every known concept of ethic and respect for living beings, all in the name of progress. Before breaking the ultimate taboo of making experiments with human lives, which would be the Polaris Project a few years later, a group of renowned and capable scientists were assembled to constitute the Antares Project. Their objective was just one, enhance capabilities in small to medium-sized animals through genetic recombination and adapt the new technology – when obtaining satisfactory results – for use on human beings that would be previously selected and trained to integrate an army of super people.

During the first year of tests, an uncountable number of small lives were taken, most not surviving past two hours following their first day as subjects of intensive study. Many crew members started questioning the legitimacy of such actions, and it didn't take too long before generalised discontentment raged through all ranks belonging to the Solarium Institute.

Quitting any confidential operation, however, has never been an easy thing to do, and after a supervisor went 'missing' the day following his threats of speaking up to the local news, everyone knew better to keep their opinions to themselves.

Another year passed, and the Antares Project was officially cancelled. The data collect over the course of two years was considered a good base to expand works upon, and that marked the birth of it's counterpart, the Polaris Project. Project that would regard experiments done solely on humans, and, later try to recreate life in cultivation tanks.

~#~

"That would explain Aurora and Brucy," I bite my lip in thought, taking my eyes from Mrs. Jay for a moment and looking at Dan to confirm my theories. He just nods back, and I'm glad to know my conclusions are shared.

"Who are 'Aurora and Brucy'?" the old lady asks. Danny quickly fills her in about our mascots, but I'm not really paying attention; something still feels a bit off in all this.

"Mrs. Jay, you took part in both projects, right?" She coughed again, nodding in response. "What happened to the animals that didn't die there? They were all used as 'raw material' or–"

"I'm not too sure, Douglas. There was a huge incident – probably sabotage or even just the government trying to cover its own tracks – in which great part of Solarium got blown up, and that's the reason why we started working somewhere else," she shrugs, but even such a minimal sudden movement triggers another coughing fit.

"You're thinking of something, speak up, Dougs," Dan says, fetching a water bottle from his bag for Mrs. Jay, going back to rub her back, in an attempt of comforting her. It seems to work, as her cough subdues after a few seconds.

"Those two we encountered were clearly not your average human, leading me to conclude that somebody could just steal a subject and try to farm their own personal army. It's not too much of a stretch, if you ask me," I chew the inside of my cheek. It's not like we have time to deal with more crazed people with unusual powers. What if there are more of them, as in 'a whole city'?

~#~

"_Vater _asked me to give you all some news," Salazar kicked the door open, entering a big room where his brothers and sisters were all busy in different activities.

"Seems like you got your work done this time," a blue-haired girl snorted, walking to her brother's side. "I was getting tired of saving your sorry ass time after time."

"Shut up, Liora," he breathed a bit of fire on her, which she put out with orange juice she controlled from a glass sitting on the coffee table. "_Vater _said we're allowed to use full power to fight from now on, that's what I had to communicate."

"I sooo hope I won't have to fight," a female voice whined from behind a big sofa facing their massive TV screen. "Got my nails done today and they look really cute, if I say so myself."

"I will pray that time won't ever come, sister." A male voice responded, the owner being tall enough that the top of his head could be spotted easily, in contrast to the girl who spoke beside him.

"No need to worry, _bruder_. I'm going to crush every single of them, you won't even have a chance to see them in person." Salazar's eyes lit up in excitement. He seemed to be the most – no pun intended – fired up for the battle that was about to take place, whereas his siblings disregarded it as being _"an order from Father"_ and nothing else.

~#~

"Mrs. Jay, are you okay?" I ask, as she starts coughing more violently, redness staining the hand she used to cover her mouth.

"Listen, boys. My time with you is nearing the end, we have to act fast." She wiped her mouth, struggling to breathe. "I need your help with this."

Mrs. Jay begins explaining her plan, and I don't know if she is the most brilliant human I ever met, or just the dumbest one: she wants Dan to inject her with one of his toxins that will accelerate her metabolism, allowing her to move freely at the cost of her own life span. It's true that she's not going to last much longer, but it's the same as asking Danny to _kill_ her, so he's totally opposed to this plan.

"I can't do tha' to you, ma'am!" Dan shakes his head, taking a few steps behind. "Do you know anything about my past? I used to kill people for the sake of this bloody agency!"

"Daniel, come closer, please." He does as told, and kneels beside the fragile old lady's form.

What none of us anticipate is the slap that hits him across his right cheek. I unknowingly gasp at the scene – she sure has some guts, I wonder what she was like when younger – and it seems that Mrs. Jay tired eyes are shimmering with some tears, fact that only adds to our confusion.

"I know exactly what you all been through, and I'm glad I could see at least you two before departing," she wheezes. "I couldn't protect any of you, let me die knowing I could do something in the end!"

I step closer to Danny and put my hand on his shoulder. He understands what I mean by gesture and shakes his head once more, his resolution still wavering like sheets in the wind. Mrs. Jay splutters a bit more of blood and we all know how close death is to her now; her presence is even more faint and I'm sure that Dan can smell death on the scientist.

"Okay, I'll do it," he sighs, extending his claws. "I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"The feeling is mutual, my sweet Daniel."

~#~

"There's a secret passage around here. Can you clear the path for me?"

"We would try to, regardless," I smile at Mrs. Jay, sheltering us behind one of my Psycho Shields, whilst Dan uses his mojo to excavate a route into a room where we're supposed to find a truckload of communication devices.

We'll transmit a warning to all the other bases about the threat of a super army that are targeting us, telling them about our intentions of combating the enemy, as long as we're are to never be bothered again by any human.

"I think it's going to work well," she smiles back, punching in a code on a panel hidden on the metallic wall.

We soon access the room and are set to start recording the message that will buy our ticket to peace, Mrs. Jay taking her time to put on some make up and redo her hair – she doesn't _"want to be immortalised on video looking like some loony"_–, giving me a signal when she's ready to go.

~#~

"I'd like to say that I am in charge of my own thoughts and actions, and this message is me asking humanity to not commit the same mistake twice. These boys are our only hope," Mrs. Jay finishes her message, collapsing on the floor right after I turn the camera off.

We rush to her side, but she just smile at us, looking pleased with herself and what we're about to accomplish. The effects of what Dan previously clawed into her guts seems to be fading, as she starts to cough again, and we know that we have to say our goodbyes now. She first hugs me, whispering into my ear kind words and that my mother would be proud of me, also thanking me for not saying anything and keeping her secret safe.

"You can tell them after all of this ends, okay, Douglas?" I nod and let go of her, feeling some tears sting my eyes.

Then it's Dan's turn and he's nothing but a mess. He does a good job fighting emotions back, a sole tear rolling down his cheek, trying hard to keep his soldier self take control of the situation. Despite his efforts, his façade breaks the moment he hugs her, guilt obviously eating his flesh and bones, when he knows well it's not really his fault.

"I'm also glad I could see you one last time, Daniel. I always hoped that you would find your way back to Thomas, you two were always adorable together, I knew it would turn into love when you grew up," she smiles, rubbing his back with one hand and the other doing the same on the back of Dan's neck.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, you're the first person who treated us well, even knowing _what_ we are," he sniffles, wiping a hand under his nose. "There's so much I wanted to ask you!"

"The only thing I ask of you is to be true to yourselves and stay wonderful, my boys."

Her eyes close slowly, and then, there is no more breathing. No more _heartbeat_.


	10. To the Battlefield

_Disclaimer: It should be clear that I'm not making money out of this. Otherwise, I'd be living in another country and being happy._

_A/N: Couldn't find time to finish it last Saturday, but here it is. I hope I'll have this story finished by the 20th chapter or something. Then I'll go back to finish 'To Live and To Learn' and, if life let me, go back to my prompt tables (maybe even start a new chaptered story; 'In the Wrong Shoes' ended, like, 3 months ago)._

Chapter X

Things are getting harder by the minute, and now we lose the only ally we ever had, leaving me and Dan with a sour taste of defeat in our mouths. We now have the coordinates of the next island we should visit and it's strange that it sounds a bit like a hollow victory in our ears, but we just can't shake this feeling, and I know very well that this thick-headed idiot with a heart too big for his own good will put all the blame on himself.

"Dan, we have to go," I tap his shoulder. "Things will get ugly if they come here and see us loitering around."

"Copy that, Dougs." He runs a hand through his hair incredibly dishevelled hair and starts pacing in my direction.

As much as I want to bury Mrs. Jay properly, we can't just take her body with us, or things can backfire and all of her last effort will be for naught. Being stubborn as he is, Danny has her resting in a coffin made with the sofa and some metallic boards he pried from the walls and folded – with his bare hands, may I add –, before we leave the lab that is now in shambles. It's now time that we go back home.

~#~

"I'm no expert, but I don't think it's something good, yeah, mate?"

"How can you tell?" I roll my eyes at Danny. Even though we're back in city, I can't exactly say things are _that_ great, at the moment. Not with this storm sweeping over the city, wind strong enough to carry little animals and bugs away with it.

It's a silent agreement that we go check on Brucy and Auros, and the next second we're in the comfort of our living room, soaking Tom's favourite carpet. I'm sure he would have us killed for this, but considering that we're going to save his pale arse, maybe he'll just overlook it?

"Bruce, where are ya?" Dan calls out. He calls once, twice more, and no response. I'm already getting anxious, when the little bird enters the room with one wing seriously injured and looking clearly debilitated. "Bruce!"

"_They... took Aurora..." _are his last words, before falling unconscious on the floor.

~#~

"How is he? He's fine?"

"He'll survive," I state, checking Brucy's pupils. "He's just exhausted and in shock, Danny boy. A few hours of sleep will do him some good, his body is all cured."

"First, Tommy and Harry. Now, Bruce and Aurora. I reckon they're a bit scared of us, to be trying so hard to reduce our numbers," he plops down on a chair, dragging it closer to his unconscious pet, running a finger over the little, feathered head.

"I see we're thinking the same thing. One less thing to explain to you," I laugh, flicking him in the forehead. We both know I'm trying my best to mask my worries, and I can feel my palms getting sweaty, this feeling that things may be worse than speculated.

"Tomorrow things will get even uglier... sure that you–"

"Finish that thought and I'll laser _neuter_ you, Dan. And I reckon Tummy wouldn't be too happy."

"Oi! Just checking!" he lifts his hands in surrender, chuckling. "It's pretty much a suicidal operation."

An inevitable battle is coming, I know that for sure. I'm just not sure that we can win so _easily_.

~#~

Brucy's report doesn't add much to what we already know – he and Auros got pounced on by some creep in the shadows that took her away – and we're back at square one, though I'm fairly sure that we never really _left_ it.

"Thank you, master Daniel and master Dougie," he chirps, flying in circles to test the mobility of his newly healed wing and eventually landing on Dan's arm. "Any useful information?"

"We have our next destination set, and it's very likely that we'll find everyone there. We had a little help from an unexpected ally," I say, proceeding to explain with details what happened during our trip outside.

My words seem to affect our winged mate badly and by the time we go to bed, we're set with supplies and everything this last mission may require. Chances are that we're not getting shit done in just one day – not impossible, but highly unlikely –, and Bruce already said he's coming with us, since he too lost his beloved one to the enemy. And just like that, the 'Boys who had your significant one kidnapped' Club is formed. Hopefully, our club will soon have to be dissolved.

~#~

"Stay hidden all the time and try to keep your plumed tiny arse away from fights, okay?" I lecture Brucy whilst making the last adjustments on his battle gear. I admit it's sorta like taking care of a kid. Maybe I should talk about the idea of having a baby to Haz, see what are his thoughts on this.

"Yes, Master Dougie," he flies to an open pocket in his owner's bag.

"We're set to go, Donner," Dan nods, giving me an 'OK' sign.

"Then, let's roll, gentlemen!" I nod back, and we're out to explore the strange island that appears before us the next second.

The vegetation is dense, and covers everything till where the eye can see – well, mine, at least. I'm sure Mogly boy's eyesight grants him an advantage over me, but we're not really here to have a contest or anything –, except for an ominous-looking tower erected at the centre of the island. It resembles more a _fortress_ than a technological institute, if you ask me; the fucking place is built in heavy stone blocks faded by wind and rain – something noticeable even at such a great distance –, spiralling towards the sky.

"Those two from before are here," Danny sniffs the air, his teeth gritting as he pronounce 'here'. Can't really blame him; I don't like those weirdos, as well. "It's faint, but I definitely can smell them."

"I can't sense anybody besides ourselves and tiny life forms... maybe you should lead the party, then?"

We head further into the jungle, under Danny's lead, cutting a path straight to where the base of Eerie Tower should be located. The process goes without major incidents, and 20 minutes and two attacks from boar/wild cat hybrids later, we're finally in front of the huge structure, staring at a huge iron gate.

"What do we do, master Dougie?"

"I can't make any readings of the internal structure, maybe we could knock or take the door down..." I ponder out loud, earning dubious looks from Dan and Brucy. "I'm kidding, boys. We can go look around for another entrance, though it's strange that this one isn't guarded in–"

An ear-splitting screech coupled with loud rumbling noises bring my attention back to the massive gate being hoisted far above the round level, just in time to see the small frame of a young boy walk out of the fortress. A ginger boy whose face I can remember very well.

"Welcome to our island, lower lives," he snorts, looking petulant as ever. "What a surprise to see you again. And alive!"

"Listen here, you _little shit_," I snarl, losing my temper just at the sight of this bloody toddler from hell. "You give everyone back and we won't have to beat a _kid_ today."

"Aren't you cocky for a sorry excuse of modified human?" He starts giggling, covering his mouth in a childish manner. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Danny's skin wrinkling with rage; he's probably restraining himself to avoid killing the repulsive brat on spot. "Father wants to test your strength, thereby I'm here to explain the rules."

It's impossible to say with precision what sick shit is going on inside the head of this 'Father', but it's plain obvious that we don't really have much of a choice or a say in the matter: they still have the boys captive.

Our objective is to defeat each of his children and make our way up to the highest point, where we should find him. Battles are supposed to be one-on-one, and each level is lair for a single fighter, meaning they won't gang up on us, if they're really sticking to the 'rules'.

"I'll go back to my own room, for now," he yawns, rubbing his eyes. "I'll get to fight you later, assuming you will be able to even cross the first level safely."

"I can't wait," Danny growls and nods in my direction.

The disrespectful ginger kid walks back inside, telling us to follow him, which we begrudgingly oblige.

~#~

The gate falls down, sealing the entrance, and we're surrounded by heated air that almost burns my nostrils. There are torches burning on the walls, and an exit opposite to where we are, leading to a long staircase. Oh, and have I mentioned the fucking ceiling is _on fire_?

"Not too inviting, eh?" I eye the flames dancing over our heads.

"I don't know who's in charge of decoration, but they should _fire_ that person," Danny smirks, making me bury my face in my hand.

"Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact you went for music and not stand up comedy, Dan."

"Having fun? _Willkommen_ to my room!" A male voice guffaws, its owner strolling into the room through the same door that leads to the stairs. _Why can't we cross paths with somebody I actually like?_

"Samuel!"

"Dougie, I'm pretty sure it's 'Salazar'," Danny corrects me. I'm aware that I have a _little_ _bit_ of trouble remembering names, but that's what nicknames were created for, right?

"Coal boy!" I exclaim again, setting my bag down on the floor. Dan does the same, telling Brucy he's not to leave the bag.

Samuel takes his shirt off, uncovering an enormous dragon tattooed on his whole back, hopping in place and punching the air to warm up his muscles. He's already wearing his knuckledusters, and, if it's enough of forewarning, cracking his joints for everyone to hear.

"This time is the last time," he smirks gleefully.


End file.
